Combination seat and back



Oct. 28, 1941. P. TRAPANI COMBINATION SEAT AND BACK Filed Jan. 29, 1958 INVENTOR I Paalfla a! AT ORNEY Patented Oct. 28, 1941 COMBINATION S EAT AND BACK Paul Trapani, New York, N. Y.

Application January 29, 1938, Serial No. 187,628 3 Claims. (01. 155-482) The present invention relates to a flexible seat construction and it particularly relates to'a flexible seat and back combination which maybe readily applied or attached to chair, automobile seats and so forth.

During the summer it is uncomfortable to sit I upon the usual upholstered or. hard seat and back chairs and couches, and it is particularly uncomfortabl to sit upon the usual type of automobile seats.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a simple, inexpensive, lightweight seat attachment or seat and back construction which may be readily applied to the usual type of couch, chair or automobil seat without deforming or necessity of reconstructing such chair, couch or seat, and which at the same time will give perfect Ventilation and assure greater comfort to the user.

Other objects will be obvious or will be apparent during the course of the following specification.

In accomplishing the above objects it has been found most satisfactory to form the seat of flexible members preferably of strip metal (for example aluminum) ,which may engage the seat or chair whether it be upholstered or of hard material at several places.

application to an automobile seat by way of illustration and,

Fig. 3 is a top view of the seat and back folded away from each other.

Referring to the seat construction as shown in Figs. 1 to 3,-the back structure A and seat structure B are provided with the side frame elements l0 and I1 respectively.

The side frame elements In of the back memher 'A are curved or convexed to conform to the I back of an automobile seat illustratively indi- The back and seat elements may be pivotally connected together and both elements or preferably the back alone is provided with suitable atrtachment means for connection to' an automobile seat or a chair or any other devices to which the seat construction is to be attached. The seat and back body contact portions are preferably formed of a network or woven material of metal wire or of textil yarns.

, These body contact member are preferably resiliently supported by side brace members of greater resiliency than the supporting framework positioned substantially away from and above said supporting framework.

Preferably the supporting members may be attached to and extend along the side frame elements and they may conveniently consist of relatively small diameter rods or small strips, which are suitably bent to conform to the shape of the frame.

In the drawing is shown one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, to which; however, the present invention is by no means restricted, since many modifications and changes might be made therein, all within the scope of the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a top perspective view of the seat'and back construction,

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view upon the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, illustrated in outline the attachment of the seat construction of the present cated at C in Fig. 2 and they are curved over and backwardly at their upper ends, as indicated at I! and terminate in the depending portions l2, which are designed to grip and clamp in back of the upper portion I 3 of the automobile seat C. The side elements ID are connected by the cross braces l4 and I5 and at their lower ends they are pivotally connected at 16 (see Fig. 2) to the side elements I! of the seat frame B.

Preferably the frame elements I! of the seat B are spaced inside of the frame elements ll) of the back A, since this forms a more substantial and more rigid structure. The seat side elements I! are connected by the cross element 18. The frame elements l0, l4, I5, I! and I8 may be made of strip aluminum or stainless steel or brass stock, preferably of such dimension as to be quite resilient and desirably not of greater thickness than 1 5 or $4; of an inch.

The hinge construction [6 is preferably formed by turning over or looping the inside ends of the frame elements In and I! to form a recess through which a pivot pin may be fitted. I

Attached to the side frame elements ID of the back A are the side braces [9 which are curved ba'ckwardly and downwardly as indicated at 20 to be attached to the side members [0 at 2| below the curved portions II. At their lower ends, the members or braces I9 are inclined downwardly and inwardly as indicated at 22 and they are connected at their lower ends 23 to the lower ends of the side frame members [0 where they may be spot welded or riveted in position.

If desired, the intermediate portions of the braces l'9 may be connected by reinforcing legs 24 to the frame members [0, but in all cases the elements l9 should desirably have greater. resiliency than'the frame members I0. The upper net 25 of fabric or wire mesh is connected by the middle portions of the braces [9 to support the back and it is sufliciently taut to prevent contact by the back with the base frame of the seat A. t

In respect to th seat element, the seat 13 is provided with the rectangular shaped brace member 26, which has the side portions 21 bowed above the side frame elements I! and having downturned portions ,28 at its forward side. At

the front of the seat B the portions 28 integrally connect with inturned portions 29 connecting in turn with the transverse element 30. The element 3!} is in turn fastened to the outer ends of the frame element 11. The rear ends 48 of the side elements '21 are also bent downwardly where they may contact with the portions 22 of the braces I9. j The lower ends of the elements 48 are connected by the cross member 49, which is connected to the rear ends of the side frame members H. The intermediate portions of the bowed elements 21 may be connected by the legs 50 to the side frame elements 11, if desired, but as stated before the resiliency of the bowed'elements 2! should be greater than that of the frame elements 11. I m I Suspended betweenthebowed elements 21 is thenet 3| which may be of the same construction as the net 25 and should preferably be of thesame .tautness. v n M m Ordinarily in utilization, the back and seat elements A and B will be in the position as indicatedin Figs. 1 and 2 with the points 3| and 32 .supporting the front of the seat B upon the automobile seat D and with the side elements Wand l1 and the hooks ll and l 2,assuring a firm connection to the back of the main seat C. It is thus apparent that the applicant has provided a simple, inexpensive, readily attachable construction for automobile seats and chairs which will assure maximum comfort'for the user thereof, particularly in driving in summer. It is obvious that many changes may be made in thesizes and shape of the stock and in the construction of the frame, since diagonal bracing isfpossible instead of the lateral bracing as shown and it is intended to include all such variations in the scope of the present application; v a

The body contacting materials 25 and 3| may be made of interwoven, or a mesh work of, wire, cloth, fiber, textiles, cane and so forth. The structural elements ID and I! may be made of one piece with the elements I extending into the elements 11. The bowed elements 19 andZl also might be made of one piece with the lower ends of the elements l9 being integrally con,- nected with the rear ends of the elements zl. 7

Although the elements [0, I4, l5, [1,19 and 26 may be made of a light material, such as aluminum or brass, they also may be readily made of iron or of hollow tubing, if desired.

Although the structure consisting of the-meme I bers .21, 30 and 49 is of generally rectangular contour, it is tobe understood it may also take other shapes, as may also the frameworks A, B and D.

silient metal frame of rod metal material and a lower resilient metal frame of strip metal stock having less resiliency than the upper frame, said frames being connected by hinge connection at the back of the seat rest and at the bottom of the back rest, and flexible body contact members carried by said upper frames, each of said lower frames consisting of parallel side strip elements with transverse connecting members and each of said upper frames consisting of parallel rod elements positioned above and connected at their ends and middle portions to said side strip elements, said upper resilient metal frame for the back rest and for the seat rest being substantially identical in width, and said upper resilient metal frame and said lower resilient metal frame for the back rest being substantially iden tical in width and said lower resilient metal. framefor the seat rest being substantially nar rower than the upper resilient frame of the seat rest, said rod elements beingturned inwardly and downwardly toward said strip elements at their ends.

2. A combination including detachable seat and back rests, each comprising an upper resilient metal frame of rod metal material and a lower resilient metal frame of strip metal stock having less resiliency than the upper frame, said frames being connected by hinge connection at the back of the seat rest and at the bottom of the back rest, and flexible body contact members carried by said upper frames, each .of said lower frames consisting of parallel side strip elements with transverse connecting members and each of said upper frames consisting of parallelrod elements positioned above and connected at their ends and middle portions to said side strip elements, said upper resilient metal frame for the back rest and for the seat rest being substantially identical in width, and said up er. resilient metal frame and said lower resilient metal frame for the back rest being substantiak 1y identical in width and said lower resilient metal frame for the seat rest being substan- Many other changes could beefiected in the particular features of combination seat and back construction designed, @and in methods of operation set forth, andin specific details thereof, without substantially departing from the invention-intended to be defined in the claims, the specific. description herein merely servingto illustrate certain elements by which, in one embodiment, the spirit of the invention may be efiec tuated. I

What is claimed is: i 1. A combination including detachable seat and back rests, each comprising an u per retially narrower than the upper resilient frame of the seat rest, said strip elements being less resilient than said rod elements. 1

3. A combination including detachable seat and back rests, each comprising an upperre silient metal frame of rod metal material and a lower resilient metal frame of strip metal stock having less resiliency thanthe upper frame, said frames-being connected by hinge connection atv the back of the seat rest and at the bottom of the back rest, and flexible body contact members carried by said upper frames, each of said lower frames consisting of parallel side strip elements with transverse connecting. members and each of said upper frames consistingof parallel rod elements positioned above and connected at their ends and middle portions to said side strip elements, said upper resilient metal frame for the back rest and for the seatrest being substan-'- tially identical in width, and said upper resilient metal frame and said lower resilient metal frame for the back rest being substantially iden-'. tical in width and said lower resilient metal frame for the seat rest being substantially narrower than the upper resilient frame of the seat rest. a

' PAUL TRAPANI. 

